We present a dare for those in enduring partnerships who enjoy scary movies: Settle in with your loved one and stream Together. This critically acclaimed 2025 movie recently had its streaming debut on Hulu. Outwardly, it may seem like typical physical horror, but within Together exists a deep meditation about the ways we decide to love one another.
A Directorial Debut Exploring Relationship Dynamics
Together represents the debut feature-length film for director Michael Shanks. It stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple named Tim and Millie, an unmarried couple that have been together for a decade. United in marriage in actuality in 2017, the actors infuse a unique chemistry to their roles, expertly portraying both the joys and frustrations of a committed partnership.
The narrative commences when the couple relocate from the big city to the rural area for Millie’s job. A somewhat stereotypical narrative setup, sure, but that’s largely where the tropes conclude. Together evolves into as much a psychological exploration of the partnership as it is a movie featuring biological frights.
A Paranormal Spark
While hiking near their new home, a storm hits, and Millie and Tim discover an subterranean cavern. After a night spent there and finally finding a way out, a strange force takes hold of the couple. This force induces a paranormal intimacy between them that goes well past typical partnership.
The entire film is a gradually intensifying fright fest, blending bits of hallucinatory nightmares, unsettling (but not excessively graphic) body horror, and authentically humorous interactions (sometimes during something disturbing). Shanks skillfully blends these components expertly and wraps them up in a gradually swelling sense of impending doom.
Layered Performances
A significant portion of Together is solely Brie and Franco, and they masterfully render countless layers to the dynamic between Tim and Millie. Millie's sense of self and emotional bond is suffering due to a emotional and physical gap. Her subconscious resentment of Tim for his unwillingness to focus on anything other than his struggling artistic pursuits inexorably rises.
Tim, on the other hand experiences isolation and cut off by Millie, who’s the impetus they’ve moved to the country and removed from his network of friends. He fears the concept of completely losing his personal autonomy in Millie. This fear is amplified by the circumstance he can’t drive and relies on Millie for getting around.
The director's cleverest decision in this movie avoids making either of his characters the obvious villain.
Tim and Millie grapple with the kind of problems that arise in long-term unions over a long period. Fundamentally, they have affection for each other. They find humor with each other, comfort one another, and share intimately at times. But under the surface, there’s an unavoidable current of uncertainty about their bond.
Thematic Depth
While the otherworldly presence in Together act as a metaphor for these anxieties of codependency and giving oneself over to a partner, the allegory never feels clumsy or heavy-handed. Instead, these ickier, creepier moments provide a perfect parallel to the relationship narrative. Both the supernatural and the personal work together symbiotically.
A Controversial Conclusion
Together’s conclusion, which is best experienced firsthand, has sparked debate on the film’s ultimate message about unhealthy partnerships. Accounts suggest that unattached audience members have interpreted the film as a strong argument for remaining unattached. Meanwhile, some couples having disagreements found that the film actually helped them make up.
Regardless of your relationship status, your own response could act as a revealing measure of how you view relationships. Will the ending plant feelings of uneasiness and dread, or a heartwarming sense of hope? Will you see yourself in one of the characters and yell at the screen, or simply turn to your partner and utter, “We could get through that together”?
No matter your reaction, Together is an experiment you can undertake at this very moment.
Together is streaming on Hulu's platform now.
